


A dream never lost

by WibblyWobbly_TimeyWimey



Series: Tumblr prompts [1]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Human, EVERYONE'S HUMAN, Happy Ending, High School, High School AU, Human!Derek, M/M, canon homosexuality, closet au, closet!sterek, sterek, tw: in the closet
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-11
Updated: 2014-05-11
Packaged: 2018-01-24 10:03:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,027
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1600859
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WibblyWobbly_TimeyWimey/pseuds/WibblyWobbly_TimeyWimey
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>ANONYMOUS asked you: <br/>hii I saw you on AO3 and I have a prompt I really really want a sterek fic where everyone is human and stiles and derek were high school lovers who broke up but never really got over each other and they see each other for the first time in years and they realize they still love each other if you could write this I would probably love you for the rest of eternity</p>
            </blockquote>





	A dream never lost

**Author's Note:**

> So yea, I wrote this in like two hours or something, it really kind of wrote itself. I hope you enjoy xx

When the man bumped in to Stiles it was as if his world stood still. The man’s grey-green eyes captured him, locking him in time, as it seemed. If it weren’t for those eyes Stiles probably wouldn’t even remember him. He looked almost nothing like himself. He was still handsome of course, but it was a whole different kind of handsome. Gone was the self-satisfied boyband-ish charm, replaced by a rock band hotness - okay, so maybe Stiles had a tiny problem with music obsession, but it was really the only way he could describe it.

Looking in to those eyes everything came back to Stiles. It seemed impossible that he had almost forgotten the boy, man, seeing as he hadn’t really, _really_ , thought about him for a good handful of years. What was it now? 8 years? Yes, 8 years, almost 10, even though seeing those eyes again made it feel like it was only a couple of days.

 

_"Stay". Stiles hated how he sounded almost pleading. He hated this part of their relationship. Every time they had had sex Derek suddenly always ‘had something important to do’. Not to get him wrong, their relationship was amazing, when they were alone anyway. They could play videogames together - Derek was the only one who was actually worth playing Final Fantasy with. Sure, Scott was Stiles’ original gaming-buddy, but he sucked at pretty much anything other than first person shooter games._

_But their relationship was more than just nerdish gaming. It was romantic picnics late at night, it was poem recitals in the early hours of the morning, it was cooking together and having flour fights. Their relationship was cliché walks in the moonlight and weekly trips to the small book dungeon in town. It was also sex, not quite so awkward and experimental after roughly one year of being partners. And it was also Derek leaving each and every one of the times, closed off and unreachable. It was looking over their shoulders before kissing outside the comfort of their rooms. It was secret hand holding, hushed conversations and stolen kisses in deserted hallways. Their relationship was the ever present fear of someone noticing, somehow finding out about them. It was only one year since Danny had come out, and the small town of Beacon Hills did their best not to associate themselves with him. It wasn’t that they were directly hateful, it was the small things, like how the employees at the ice cream shop would suddenly get very busy talking with each other when Danny wanted an ice cream, pretending they didn’t hear him. It was the waitress at the local burger place not looking at him when taking his order. But that was better than the looks Danny_ _did_ _get from the loyal church people. Stiles always felt that they were directed at him every time he noticed one of them. They even refused to have anything to do with Danny._

_So Stiles understood why Derek wanted to keep their relationship a secret. No, scratch that, Stiles_ _did not_ _understand. Stiles didn’t care. And so what if the stuck up church bitches acted spiteful? So what if they couldn’t get service at the ice cream shop and people avoided them. It wouldn’t be that bad. Being able to go on a real date or hold hands when walking around the park. How could Derek not think it was worth it? It broke Stiles’ heart again and again being reminded that apparently it wasn’t worth it,_ _Stiles_ _wasn’t worth it._

_“Stiles… You know I can’t. My family will wonder”, Derek answered, avoiding looking at Stiles, and it hurt so much. He would always be like that after sex; he couldn’t even_ _look_ _at Stiles. Was he really that ashamed? Did he really think their love was so wrong, just because some bible humping freaks twisted and picked words from the bible to fit their best interest? How could it possibly be wrong when it felt so good? But Stiles didn’t just feel hurt. The hurt was accompanied by something else, an anger that had been coming for a long time now. Stiles’ life philosophy was to ignore a problem until it went away, but he simply_ _could not_ _ignore this anymore. It was_ _breaking_ _him, and he would not let Derek do this to him any longer. How dared he make Stiles feel bad for something he shouldn’t feel badly for at all?_

_“No. No, I don’t know. I don’t understand. Are you really so disgusted that you can’t even_ _look_ _at me?”, Stiles asked, every loving emotion that had filled the air had quickly left the room and it felt much colder and distant than it had a few minutes ago. Stiles sat up in his bed pulling up his covers and looking at Derek defiantly, almost forcing him to look at Stiles. And he did, he did look at Stiles, and what Stiles saw in those grey-green eyes that he used to love made his stomach drop. Derek really was ashamed of them._

_“Stiles, it’s not you…” Derek sighed but he got cut off by Stiles._

_“- No, it definitely ain’t me! And it’s not you either, it’s everyone else in this shitty town and I don’t care what they think. You shouldn’t either!”, he was shouting by now, the feelings that he had been containing ever since Derek first walked out on him, leaving him feeling used and dirty like a secret that should be well-hidden and not for good reasons._

_“It’s not that easy Stiles, they all think that what we’re doing”, he gestured between them, “what we_ _are_ _is wrong”. He wasn’t shouting but his voice had gotten a sharper edge that Stiles had only ever heard him use a few times before._

_The room was silent for what felt like ages but was more likely a very long five minutes before Stiles finally spoke, voice fragile and almost in-audible. “Do you think it’s wrong?”_

_The lack of answer from Derek was enough. His face was enough of an answer for Stiles - he_ _did_ _look ashamed, and Stiles couldn’t believe he had let himself ignore it for so long. Derek was_ _ashamed_ _of him, and if Stiles knew anything about relationships it was that you should never be in one where your partner isn’t as invested. So he took a good, deep breath before choosing his next words with caution._

_“If you walk out of that door we are nothing anymore”, he sank the spit forming in his mouth, and added, voice low but firm, “if you love me, you’ll stay”. Derek looked as though he was about to answer and Stiles damned his treacherous heart for giving him doubt, hope that maybe this didn’t have to be the end. That was when Derek’s phone went off and he had the nerve to check it. Stiles knew it before he spoke._

_“I’m sorry, I really have to-“, Derek gestured for the door, starting to back away._

_“If you walk out of that door, I swear to you, Derek Hale, we will be strangers”, Stiles threatened but Derek was already out of the room. The last Stiles saw was those grey-green eyes filled with sadness as if Stiles was the bad guy, and then he was gone. The next day at school it was as Stiles had promised - they were as strangers. The year went by and they graduated without ever speaking even once. They went to different colleges and they thought that they were never to meet ever again. The last Stiles saw of Derek Hale was the day of their graduation as Stiles drove home in his jeep. He had the same grey-green broken eyes that Stiles would never forget._

8 years later they still held the same look, those eyes that Stiles would never forget. Not the exact same, but underneath the distance and the shields that kept emotion away, Stiles could still see the look. If it wasn’t because he knew them so well he probably wouldn’t be able to see it. He couldn’t help but wonder what had caused the emotionless look in his eyes. Was that Stiles’ fault? It couldn’t possibly be. Derek probably didn’t even remember him anymore it had been 8 years for Christ sake.

“Stiles?” his voice was deeper, older and confused. Oh well, seemed like he did remember him after all.  Stiles didn’t know how he should feel.

“Eh, um, hi Derek. What a surprise seeing you here, eh, crazy huh, what’s it been, 8 years?” Stiles babbled nervously, as he always did.

“Stiles, relax”, Derek answered, rolling his eyes and Stiles was surprised at how  _easy_  Derek was taking this. Of course logically he knew that Derek  _wasn’t_ taking it easy - his eyes revealed that.

“And it’s not that weird actually. I just moved back”, Derek answered, shifting a little so they didn’t stand in everyone’s path. Stiles couldn’t help but notice that they were in a gay bar (perceptive, yes, as if he didn’t come there often, he had just never seen  _Derek_ there), Derek Hale was in a gay bar, which meant that he had probably come out. That bit of information actually hurt Stiles a bit. Derek couldn’t come out when he was with Stiles, but now he had no problem? Had he found a guy he thought was worth fighting for? Because apparently Stiles hadn’t been.

“Wait, you ‘just moved back’. Why the hell would you move back to Beacon Hills?” Stiles questioned. Sure, Beacon Hills had resolved its problems with acceptance but that didn’t change the fact that it was a small town people usually moved  _from_.

“I’ve been asked to remove the remains of my old home. Something about them disturbing the idyll of the forest or something”, Derek answered, jaw clenched. That’s when Stiles remembered - roughly one year after their break up Derek’s house had burned down. Almost everyone died.

“Oh, I’m so sorry. I tried contacting you, back then, but… It was probably a bad idea”, Stiles mumbled, looking down at his restless hands as if they were the most interesting thing he had ever seen. He had spent almost every single day of that summer in his jeep not long from the apartment he knew Derek was staying in with his uncle and sisters. Every day he would send Derek a text saying he was there just in case. Every day of that whole summer. Derek didn’t come down once.

“I… I know, I saw you”, Derek answered, blushing, and Stiles almost swallowed his tongue, “I would have gone down to meet you, but I just… I couldn’t”, Derek answered, and now Stiles wasn’t the only one studying his nails.

“I can respect that, but”, Stiles chewed at his lip, forcing his eyes to meet Derek’s, “I just need to know: why? Why wasn’t I worth it? I mean, it’s obviously not a problem now”, Stiles snorted, hating how hurt he sounded. He just had to know, it could be the only chance he would ever get.

Derek looked determinedly at Stiles, surprising him. “I meant it when I said it wasn’t you. It was my family. My mom was best friends with the pastor’s wife, for God’s sake! We went to church every Saturday!” Derek answered frustrated, running a hand through his hair. And Stiles had to admit that he was surprised. Of course. He had never really thought about  _that_. His father and he had stopped believing in God when Stiles’ mother was taken from them so it simply hadn’t crossed his mind.  _God,_ he was stupid, and now he was standing there reminding Derek of his  _dead_ family. He was a horrible person, and yet he couldn’t help but pathetically ask, “So you didn’t think I was disgusting?” And Derek looked at him with such admiration that Stiles could practically feel his heart  _swell_.

“Gosh, you always were an idiot”, Derek rolled his eyes, “c’mon I’ll get you a drink and we can talk”, and with those words Derek let Stiles to the bar - or more poetically, to his future.


End file.
